Monday, September 08, 2003

Mental illnesses share gene flaw
Story at the BBC web site - "Schizophrenia and manic depression could have similar genetic causes, researchers suggest. The flaw appears to lie in genes which affect how the central nervous system develops. Researchers from the University of Cambridge say the findings are surprising because the conditions are so different."  
  

People Keep Their Distinctive Patterns of Cognitive Ability as They Age, Contrary to Prior Speculation
APA press release - "New research reveals that, contrary to prior thinking, even the very old retain their distinctive patterns of cognitive strengths and weakness. The findings are published in the September issue of the Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, which is published by the American Psychological Association. The results of a large-scale, longitudinal study did not confirm popular but unproven theories of “dedifferentiation” -– that for any given person, varied cognitive skill levels start to merge late in life, perhaps due to brain changes." The full text of the study, Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Patterns of Dedifferentiation in Late-Life Cognitive and Sensory Function: The Effects of Age, Ability, Attrition, and Occasion of Measurement, is also available (in Adobe Acrobat format).